Holden goes for lion's share of LCV sales

NOT content with becoming the number one light commercial vehicle brand in Australia for the first time last year, Holden plans to leverage an array of new all-wheel drive Commodore-based utilities to remain top LCV dog in 2005.

A surprise new AWD version of its successful One Tonner will spearhead Holden’s all-paw VZ LCV range, which was developed at a cost of $12 million and also includes the V6 Crewman Cross 6 and updated Cross 8 dual-cab utilities.

At $31,990, One Tonner Cross 6 blends payload capacity with AWD traction, a unique combination Holden admits is an unknown sales quantity but should account for at least 20 per cent of the 4500 One Tonner sales it expects this year.

Including the $44,490 Crewman Cross 6 and $52,290 Crewman Cross 8 – which go on sale in April and are forecast to comprise 20 per cent of 8000 Crewman sales in 2005 – Holden now offers a staggering 55 LCV models totalling about 130 different variants.

Of course, Rodeo represents the lion’s share of this, having outsold HiLux for the first time after increasing sales by more than 25 per cent in 2004, and being largely responsible for lifting Holden from a 20 per cent LCV share in 2000 to last year’s dominant 29.1 per cent slice.

While LCV sales have grown 51.1 per cent since 2000 – when Holden’s commercial vehicle business was dwarfed by both Ford and Toyota – Holden’s share of them has grown a massive 114.5 per cent in the same period.

Last year, when passenger car-derived models comprised more than a third of all LCVs sold, Holden grew its LCV business by 26.6 per cent. With another 27 per cent LCV sales increase in January, the Holden commercial steamroller looks set to continue in 2005.

But as rosy as Holden’s LCV success is, the local General Motors arm has lacked a meaningful presence in Australia’s other boom market – until now.

All V6 Adventras feature the Bosch 8.0 electronic stability control introduced in selected VZ sedans last year

In January, when Adventra found just 84 new homes, it ranked behind Territory, Prado, Kluger, Pajero, Sorento, Cherokee, Terracan, Wrangler and even Suzuki’s XL-7 in the booming medium SUV category. Only the ancient Challenger, Discovery, Pathfinder and Defender were less popular.

Holden hopes its first V6 Adventra – and the keener pricetag and lower fuel consumption it brings – will change all that.

And with a high level of standard equipment (including the top-shelf 190kW/340Nm version of Holden’s 3.6-litre Alloytec V6, mated to a five-speed automatic transmission), it appears there’s every chance it can.

Developed at a cost of $18 million, the VZ Adventra range opens at just $40,990 for the Acclaim specification SX6 – $2000 less than Ford’s entry level Territory TX AWD. Rear-drive Territory pricing opens at $38,990.

Matching Territory, all V6 Adventras feature the Bosch 8.0 electronic stability control introduced in selected VZ sedans last year, plus hill descent control (optional on the base Territory for $865). Territory TX also misses out on standard SX6 fare like 17-inch alloys and rear park assist.

Of course, while the base Adventra offers a five-speed auto (without a manual-shift mode, compared to Territory’s four-speed sequential shifter) and 190kW of peak power versus Territory’s 182kW, it lacks the Ford’s 380Nm torque output.

However, Territory is also almost 200kg heavier (TX AWD 2085kg v SX6 1895kg).

Third-row seating remains a $2000 option for Adventra, while it costs $1500 in Territory.

Alongside the three-model V6 Adventra range, Holden has discontinued the $48,990 VYII CX8, reducing its V8 inventory to just one model – the $56,990 LX8, which now features the same 250kW/470Nm 5.7-litre V8 from VZ Commodore SS (up from 235kW/460Nm). A more utilitarian version, dubbed SX8 and developed for fleet customers including the police, will not be available to the public.

A manual transmission will not be offered with any VZ AWD model, and neither Adventra LX8 nor Crewman Cross 8 – which betters Crewman Cross 6’s 2100kg towing capacity by 400kg – are available with stability control, hill descent control or the V6 models’ five-speed auto.

Like all VZ commercials, Berlina is offered only with a revised version of Holden’s 4L60 four-speed auto and the basic 175kW/320Nm Alloytec V6 – despite having a higher pricetag than the 190kW/five-speed auto-equipped Adventra SX6.

But Holden appears determined not to fall short of its Adventra sales target this time around.

It has forecast just 4500 Adventra sales this year – less than the 2004 target – despite having a sharp new price-point for its new V6 that’s expected to account for 80 per cent of sales.

Meantime, Ford, which developed Territory at a cost of $500 million – four times what Holden originally spent to develop Adventra/Cross 8 – plans on selling more than four times as many Territorys in 2005.